Remember Who You Belong To
by BlueMoon007
Summary: Sequel to "Mommy Missed You" - Carlos has been back in Auradon after being kidnapped and sent back to the Isle. But a mystery person sent him an unwanted gift.
1. Chapter 1

**My Dear Readers,**

 **Finally getting around to starting the sequel to "Mommy Missed You". I've got a lot going on right now so I don't know how often I'll update and I'm still trying to focus on "Trying to Fit In" so this will be updated as my muse and time allows.**  
 **This is totally off canon and AU.**

 **I hope you like it, please review.**

 _Carlos had been back in Auradon for about 6 months now. He had spent a month of that time in the hospital recovering physically from everything he had gone through. He had pneumonia and frostbite. Countless bruises and burns and then there was the emotional trauma. He still had to see someone every week to try to work on all that There was still no news on how Carlos had been abducted to begin with, or by whom, as the boy hadn't seen anyone when it happened. He was thrilled when he was allowed to move back into the dorms. Fairy Godmother and the other adults even ignored the fact that Mal and Evie usually slept in the boys room with them. Although Fairy Godmother put her foot down when Jane and Lonnie tried._

" _Hey. A package came for you." Jay said tossing a small package to Carlos._

 _The younger boy looked confused, who would send him a package?. He opened up the box._

 _Inside was a leather dog collar and leash. Carlos thought it was for Dude until he lifted it out, it was too large for Dude. He looked at the dog ID tag attached to the collar. CARLOS_

 _Well that was weird, Carlos felt a little shiver crawl over him, there was magic in this object, he could feel it. It was drawn to him, or he to it; he wasn't sure which._

 _As his thumb grazed over his name etched in the metal the magic came alive and the collar hovered out of his hands before flying at him and attaching itself magically around his neck. Carlos yelled and Jay ran over both boys frantically trying to remove the collar. Jay even tried to use his knife to cut it off but it wouldn't budge. Once Carlos realized it wasn't going to strangle him he calmed down enough to notice that there was a little note in the box and Carlos picked it up to read it:_

" _Don't think I'm letting you go this easily. Remember who you belong to."_

Jay and Carlos immediately ran to Fairy Godmothers office in a right panic. Mal and Evie arrived a few minutes later, somehow knowing there was a problem. The boys quickly explained the mysterious collar, Fairy Godmother tried both magical and non magical methods to remove it but wasn't finding any success. Mal flipped through her mother's spell book as well and tried every possible spell she could think of. Nothing seemed to work and Carlos was beginning to get desperate.

"I'm sorry, Carlos, I need to go do some research on this." Fairy Godmother said after over an hour of trying.

Carlos looked ready to cry and he yanked on the collar again.

"C, stop you're going to hurt your neck if you keep yanking on it." Mal chided gently. "We'll figure it out."

"I can't walk around with this thing on!" Panic was evident in the youngest's voice.

Evie thought for a moment, "Just act like its the new fashion trend. Everyone here thinks we dress weird anyway and 2 months later they're trying to copy us." It was probably the most encouraging thing to say under the circumstances.

The next couple weeks Fairy Godmother summoned as many magical beings as were available to help solve the problem of the magical dog collar that attached itself to Carlos, as well as Auradon Bureau of Investigation to try and figure out where the package came from to begin with. Although no one put much faith in them anymore since they still hadn't figured out who had drugged and kidnapped Carlos 9 months before.

The four VKs, Fairy Godmother, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, and Genie were all assembled in Fairy Godmothers office a few weeks later to try a few more spells when Carlos suddenly felt a little off. He had been looking through Mal's spell book for the hundred and oneth time with no luck when he suddenly dropped it. Everyone looked up at him startled meanwhile Carlos looked at his hand. Or at what was his hand. Right in front of his face his hand turned to dust, it didn't hurt but that's not something anyone wants to see their hand doing. The particles flew around the air before flying out the open window as the rest of Carlos began to do the same thing.

"What's happening to me?" he cried out panicked, and rightfully so. Dude barked and Jay caught the smaller boy as he passed out only to succumb to whatever magic was literally turning Carlos into dust in front of them.

"Look" Mal cried pointing out the window as she noticed the steady stream of Carlos dust particles flying away steadily north "Someone's doing this on purpose, someone's pulling him to them!"

Jay and Dude jumped out the window, thankfully it was a first floor office and ran after the little stream of dust but quickly had to stop as it left him behind. Dude barked wildly next to the older

boy.

Back in the office Evie had collapsed to the floor, her scream of despair and raw anguish could be heard throughout the campus and brought goosebumps to all.

Mal's eyes glowed furiously as she stared off into the distance, who ever had taken Carlos would pay.


	2. Chapter 2

**I suppose I should make note here, I don't own Descendants, I wish I did.**

 **Also there will be abuse in later chapters, I'll make sure to note when needed.**

 **Please review!**

Everything hurt. Carlos wasn't sure precisely when he became aware of this fact. Every cell in his body felt like it had been ripped apart and put back together. And then it occured to the boy that that was exactly what had happened. He had watched his hands turn to particles of dust in front of his eyes and fly out the window before fainting. He could feel his hands now though, they rested under his head as if he had been curled up to sleep.

The boy could tell he wasn't in his bed in his room he shared with Jay at Auradon Prep. It didn't feel like the infirmary either, the bright fluorescent lights would have come through his closed eyelids. He hoped he wasn't back on the isle, again. The thought of waking up there again verged on the start of a panic attack, but Carlos took some deep breaths and pushed the thought from his mind. Panicking now could be deadly, he didn't know where he was.

As he regained more of his consciousness he tried to figure out where he might be. What ever he was laying on was hard, it clearly wasn't a bed of any sort. His fingers moved slightly on the ground he lay on, it felt like hard packed dirt and not flooring. His feet were cold and Carlos realized that he no longer had his socks or shoes. Inwardly he cringed, the last time he didn't' have his shoes was because his mother had taken them in effort to keep him from running off.

Carlos now became aware of the crackling of a nearby fire, it wasn't quite close enough to give him any extra warmth, it also sounded like it was raining, but he wasn't wet and so determined he was inside. He could hear sounds of what might be chickens and dogs somewhere beyond.

The room smelt of dirt, alcohol, sweat, and stale air. Carlos slowly opened his eyes a little, he didn't move his head at all but scanned as much as he could through the tiny slits he allowed his eyelids to leave. He was on the floor, in a corner from what he could tell, the room appeared to be small and there was a shabby bed on the far wall across from him, a door next to it. A ratty couch sat in the middle of the room facing the fireplace, and beyond looked like a kitchen area. Cupboards with no doors that didn't look like it could safely hold a jar of peanut butter hung to the walls.

It was very dark in the little cabin, as Carlos determined it to be, he couldn't tell if it was the middle of the day or closer to dusk, the rain made very little light come in the two grimey windows. _Where the hell am I?_ Carlos thought, he'd never seen such a place before, not on the isle, and certainly not in Auradon.

The door burst open and Carlos jumped slightly but quickly recovered and resumed lying motionless on the floor. He heard heavy footsteps approach him until he saw through his eyelashes boots come to a stop in front of him.

"Boy, I know you're not asleep. Get up." a gruff unfamiliar voice said. Carlos debated obeying this unknown voice or continuing to feign sleep. The owner of the voice didn't give him much chance to decide though "I said get up, you lazy little shite" as strong hands reached down and pulled him up. Carlos' eyes flew open in shock and fear as he quickly tried to get his footing at being so abruptly righted.

Before him stood a giant of a man, not a real giant, but Carlos only made it up to about the man's chest, he slowly raised his head up, up, up before finding the mans face. The man glowered down at him, his face angry. Carlos took a step back as he stared up into the menacing face, he had a hundred questions but didn't dare speak. He had never been this scared in his entire life. Not even when he woke up to find himself back in Hell Hall, not even when he knew his mother was coming after him with that damn hanger to whip him. He took in the man, he was over 6 foot by a good measure, maybe even 6 and a half feet tall and hands the size of frying pans, and it did not take Carlos long to realize that if this man wanted to he could break him with one hit. His face was unwashed and hair unkempt, with a short beard. Carlos didn't take his eyes off the man but he did manage to take in everything, there were the heavy boots on his feet, a heavy work pant that had dirt, oil, and who knows what else on it kept up by a thick leather belt, a once white/now greyish undershirt and a button down shirt over it that was just as dirty and filthy as everything else the man wore. Apparently washing clothes wasn't high on his list of things to do.

Carlos just stood there, not daring to speak or look away. The man had his hands on his hips as he stood staring down at the petit boy in front of him, "Boy, how's your mother?" the gruff voice belonging to the man-giant asked. Carlos's jaw dropped open and he stared up at the man in front of him but made no effort to answer. "I see you haven't learned any more manners at that fancy school of yours." The man grumbled before heading to the area of the cabin with the kitchen and began digging around for something to drink.

Carlos continued to stand where he was, he didn't dare make a move. He watched as the man took a drink of something in a dark brown bottle and then fumbled around at the stove. A short while later the man served up two bowls of stew and set them on the table. "Sit. Eat." He ordered gruffly. Carlos remained where he was, the man sighed and took the two steps needed to reach the boy and roughly grabbed him by the upper arm and flung him towards the little table. Carlos, shocked by the roughness quickly sat down and looked at his bowl. It smelled decent at least and he carefully picked up his spoon and tried a bite. He ate slowly as he watched the man across from him eat his food.

The cabin was small, just one room and a little half loft. A fireplace, bed, couch, small table, two chairs, a shelf with maybe a dozen books, and a makeshift kitchen were all that were in the little room. As he ate the man said there was an outhouse just around back of the cabin, a chicken coop, and kennels. Carlos cringed, he and Dude had become best pals, but that didn't mean he was ready to associate with other dogs yet. The man noticed Carlos pale at the mention of the animals and he chuckled, "Let me guess, she told you dogs were rabid, vicious, pack animals that eat boys who don't behave?"

Carlos stared wide eyed, swallowed, and slowly nodded.

The man gave a hearty belly laugh, "She's right." and then added in a serious tone "so you better behave yourself."


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally got around to chapter 3. Enjoy, and please leave a review.**

Jay swore loudly as he watched the trail of what was once Carlos disappear out of sight, he looked down at Dude who had just caught up to him before turning back to trek back to Auradon Prep.

Back in Fairy Godmothers office Evie was in hysterics as her "little brother" was pulled away from her right in front of her eyes. Last year when Carlos had been kidnapped she stayed angry with Jay for weeks, secretly blaming him for letting Carlos be taken, but now, she fully understood how little Jay could have done.

"What the hell just happened?" Mal roared turning to Fairy Godmother, her eyes were blazing green and the older woman gasped and took a step back. Mal's magic was radiating from her body.

Fairy Godmother shook her head "I'm not certain." she said cautiously. "Thats some very dark magic."

Flora quickly got on the phone to call King Beast while Merryweather tried to calm a distraught Evie. Mal paced back and forth and Jay and Dude finally burst back into the room slightly breathless. Mal spun to look at the taller boy and cursed again to herself.

"Do you think Cruella took him again?" Jay finally asked and everyone stopped and looked at him.

"I think we need to go talk to her at least." Mal said, her full lips thinned out at she pressed them together.

"No, absolutely not!" Fairy Godmother cut in, "after the trouble it was to get you four back off the isle last time you are not going anywhere near it again!"

"But…" Mal started to argue.

"No!" Fairy Godmother snapped back with a glare that firmly told Mal and Jay that it wasn't even on the table to discuss.

Mal glared back and plopped down into a chair. "Well what are we going to do? We have no idea where he went or who took him."

Fairy Godmother nodded, "King Beast is on his way over, but you three," she looked pointedly at each of the three remaining teens "can get the idea of going over to the isle right out of your heads."

After King Beast and Prince Ben arrived and listened to what happened they made a few phone calls, the royal guard would be sent to the isle to find Cruella and interrogate her, meanwhile all the other districts in the kingdom would be notified and a kingdom wide search was underway by nightfall.

/

Cruella did not appreciate being placed on an island prison for the crime of attempted puppy murder, she hadn't even committed the crime, hadn't really even gotten close to it, so as far as she was concerned she was innocent and wrongly imprisoned.

And then the king had the nerve to take her kid away, it wasn't like she loved him or anything emotional like that, but he was hers. 36 weeks of pregnancy, 18 hours of labor, all for what a 5 pound runt of a boy that was useless for a good 3 years before he even stopped messing himself and the puppy pads she had come to put down around the house. Two more years before the somewhat adorable little puppy spots had showed up. Cruella laid claim to her son and she was furious that he was taken from her, twice. If she wanted to beat him, that was her right, damn it!

And now the royal guards had banged on her door at the ungodly hour of 11am, the nerve of them, only to tell her that they'd misplaced _her son_ she raged at them and threw several old bottles of some cheap booze. How. Dare. They.

Now while they were trying to calm her and asking her over and over if she'd seen him or know who might have wanted to take him she couldn't believe the audacity of the guards.

Then Cruella stopped suddenly and went to her bureau and rummaged through the drawers, she stood upright and looked at the guards, "what's the date?"

"June 11th, ma'am." One of the guards answered.

The string of curse words the followed and the near hysterics made all the royal guards cringe back.

"You took him away from me where he was safe, and now he's in even more danger!" the mad woman raged on and on. Clearly Cruella knew something, but what exactly that was was anyone's guess because she was too far gone in her insanity to be of any use.


	4. Chapter 4

**The next installment...  
I hope you enjoy it, and please leave me a review!**

Carlos wasn't sure what to do next, "the man" as he was calling his captor in his head had taken their dishes and cleaned them up and then tended to the fire. So Carlos just sat at the table lost in thought.

"You've had a long day, particle travel puts a strain on a person, head on up to the loft there and get to bed." the man said to Carlos not unkindly.

Carlos had, over the last few hours, made a list of questions he eventually wanted answers to. _Who was this person? What should he call him? Why did he kidnap him? Where were they? How did he know his mother?_ All of these would have been reasonable questions to break his silence with, but did Carlos pick one of them? No, he chose instead to go with: "Why so early? It's only 8, the sun is still up."

Not his brightest move.

Carlos realized his error when the man growled at him and before he could offer an apology he felt himself roughly yanked up from the table and propelled towards the loft ladder with a firm smack on his back side. He yelped both in surprise and pain and quickly ascended the ladder least the man felt he needed further motivation.

"There is bedding in the chest, fix up your bed and go to sleep." The man called up to him. Carlos looked around the tiny loft that he supposed was his bedroom for the moment. There was a small bed and a window and a chest. It wasn't a bad little space, if it were under different circumstances he thought. He opened up the chest and found blankets and pillows and a sheet and quickly made up the little bed, he also discovered some clothes that looked like they'd fit him, although if Evie ever saw them he'd never hear the end of it. He pulled out what appeared to be a nightshirt, Carlos raised an eyebrow, who wore those anymore? Still it was soft, and clean, and he didn't have anything else to wear besides the clothes on his back and what he found in the chest so he decided to put it on.

There were also numerous books filed away in the large chest, Carlos picked up a few but before he could glance at the titles he heard the now more familiar growl of the man down below "I said get to bed, pup."

Not wanting to accrue the man's wrath Carlos quickly hopped into bed. He looked out the window, it had stopped raining and there were more stars than he'd ever seen before. The isle was always overcast and Auradon usually had too many city lights to properly see the stars. "Wow." he said to himself as he watched a shooting star fly by, and what had the man called him… pup? Carlos pondered the name for a bit, it had an endearing quality to it but the man had seemed to angry when he first became conscious, but then he fed him dinner, and then he had smacked him, he pouted as he rubbed out the remaining sting. He was so confused but he didn't have long to ponder because particle travel really is exhausting and he was asleep within a few minutes.

/

Carlos woke with a groan, the morning sun was shining on his face. He had slept surprisingly well and not a single nightmare, which was a first without Evie holding him. It took him a few minutes to get his bearings and realize where he was. Deciding it was best not to lay around and be accused of being lazy, Carlos got up, dressed quickly, and headed down the ladder to the smell of breakfast cooking. The man saw him come down and grunted at him and gestured with a nod towards the little table. When Carlos sat down he put a plate of oatmeal with fruit in it down in front of the boy.

"Thanks" mumbled Carlos before starting in. After a few bites Carlos mustered up his courage to ask "Why am I here?"

"This is where you belong." Came the reply.

"I belong at Auradon Prep."

"No. You don't." the answer was firm and said in a way that Carlos could tell any further argument would be useless.

"Where are we?" the boy asked as he shoved another spoonful in his mouth.

The man studied him for a while as if he debated whether he should answer or not. Finally he said "We are beyond the borderlands, deep in the woods."

Carlos almost choked at that, no one ever went to the borderlands, let alone _beyond_. And the woods was just a story, or so he thought. As much as he hated to admit it, he might as well be on another planet for all the chance his friends had at finding him here.

"Come on, time to feed the pack, they're hungry for their breakfast too." the man said as he opened the door and waited for a terrified Carlos to follow.


	5. Chapter 5

Carlos nervously followed the man out of the cabin, he blinked as the bright sunlight attacked his eyes after the dim indoor light. He spotted the outhouse and dashed for it. The man smirked in amusement when he came back out a few minutes later feeling much relieved.

Now for the first time Carlos was able to take a look around where he was. The cabin, barn, and the other small structures were in a clearing surrounded on all sides by woods.

The trees were taller than any he had ever seen, and as he looked around and saw no sign at all of a path in any direction Carlos's heart sank as he realized even if he did try to run off, chances are he'd just get lost in the thick deep woods.

"Um, do you have a name?" Carlos asked tentatively as he followed the large man to the barn like building.

"You can just call me 'sir' for now." he responded gruffly after a moment. Carlos sighed and trudged after annoyed that he didn't even know who this man was or why he was there.

The man opened the door to the barn and Carlos was dismayed at the sounds of numerous dogs inside barking and growling. He wanted desperately to run the other direction, but the man put his hand on his shoulder and lead him in. The animals were for the most part in separate kennels. The first few by the door seemed to be the most aggressive, baring their teeth, growling, and lunging towards the door of their stall. Carlos stepped back apprehensively behind the man.

The man waved his hand over the animals and they fell silent and calm, he scolded them gently before going in to give them each some attention, new food, water, and to clean out their stalls. Carlos watched from what he considered a safe distance. These animals were nothing like Dude. Despite their submission, Carlos knew they could easily rip his throat out.

Once they were taken care of the man started introducing him to all the animals. Some were much more calm than the initial animals and Carlos bravely helped give new food and water to the others.

"You'll like this one." the man promised as they got to the last stall, he opened the door and a large wolf like dog ran out, she placed her paws on the boys chest and Carlos toppled backwards not expecting it, she sniffed him as Carlos closed his eyes tightly hoping that the animal wouldn't rip him to pieces and then suddenly she began to lick his face and neck and he squirmed because it tickled.

"Alright, get off the boy." the man pushed the friendly creature off of Carlos enough for him to sit up, the animal barked towards her stall and several pups came bounding out to ambush Carlos knocking him over again. Carlos laughed boyishly as he played with the young animals who were still small enough to need to be with their mother, but big enough to find plenty of mischief. After a bit the man shooed them back in their stall and indicated that it was time to go back to the cabin.  
"Why do you have so many dogs?" Carlos asked.

"Can't you tell the difference between dogs and wolves?" the man gave him a light smack on the back of the head "They're family"

Carlos thought about it, he considered Dude his family, he loved him as much as Evie, Jay, and Mal. But his mom was his family too, and although he supposed deep deep down he cared about her too, it wasn't nearly the same, so he just nodded at that explanation.

After a brief lunch the man pulled out a large book and put it down in front of Carlos. "Read chapter 1. I'll ask you about it after dinner." And with that he left the cabin leaving Carlos alone. He glanced at the title Magical Theory: Volume 1

Carlos read a bit of it before his mind wandered off, he didn't understand the point of reading about something that wasn't allowed anymore, he couldn't do magic, and the contents of the cabin without the intimidating man there seemed much more interesting.

The book forgotten Carlos began to poke around the cabin for any hint of where they were and how he could get home. He had just settled down on the sofa with a photo album he had found on the shelf when the man cleared his throat. Carlos jumped up off the couch in surprise.  
"You were told to read." the man growled at him before grabbing him, landing a smack,and sitting him down at the little table again. Carlos winced as he was roughly plopped down on to the hard chair.

"And why should I listen to you. You're just a big bully that took me away from where I belong. Let me go home!" Carlos argued back.

"You BELONG here!" the man said in such a calm low voice that resonated threateningly.

Carlos stared back without fear, well on the outside he looked calm and unphased, inside he was quaking. "Who are you?" he asked again and crossed his arms indicating he had no intention of reading anything yet.

The man took a breath trying to reign in his temper, the brat was wearing on him and it had only been two days "I am Nirmolak" he finally answered.

Carlos's eyes grew wide, his mouth opened in surprise, and if it was possible to get any paler he did, "No" he whispered disbelieving.

 **Please be a responsible reader and leave a review**


	6. Chapter 6

"Carlos, don't you dare miss any sections this time." Cruella's shrill voice snapped at her young son as he carefully touched up her roots.

"No, Momma. I'll be careful." the little boy said stoically. His hands shook ever so slightly as he checked to make sure his mother would be at least somewhat satisfied with his work. He knew what would happen if she was displeased, now that he was a big boy of 7 Momma didn't always just use her hands to hit him and it hurt a lot more. A few more minutes and he was convinced he'd covered every section "All done Momma, it just needs to set now."

"You can work on my feet now." The woman gestured towards the floor next to the small tub her feet were soaking in. Carlos wrinkled his nose and pouted, he had wanted to go out and play with Evie next door, but he knew better than to argue, actually he was lucky his mother hadn't seen him make a face at all.

He started working on his mother feet, and she surprisingly started talking to him, "Carlos, you remember me telling you about villians to stay away from, right?"

"Yes, momma."

"There is one man more dangerous than all the rest, so dangerous that they couldn't even put him on the isle."

"Wow!" the little boy said, impressed that there was someone so evil they didn't even put him on the isle.

"Carlos, look at me." Cruella said in a tone that was suddenly very serious, her son stopped his work and looked at his mother with a somber expression. The woman gripped his chin with her hand so that he was forced to keep looking at her, "This man, his name is Nirmolak, and if you ever see him, run, run away as fast as you can, and if you can't run, try not to anger him." Here she shuddered as if remembering something horrible. "Do you understand me Carlos?"

Carlos looked at his mother confused, "But if he isn't on the isle and we are, why does it matter?"

"Stupid child, someday we villains will rise again and get off this cursed rock. But when that happens he will come." she let go of her sons jaw and took a long drink of her wine bottle. Carlos just stared at his mother and nursed his jaw a bit until she nodded to him to continue with her feet.

/

Carlos's brown eyes stared into the blue ones in front of him, he swallowed nervously, he knew he was supposed to run. Momma had said to run, but there was nowhere to go, he'd never made it to the edge of the forest, and even if he did he'd be lost in there in two minutes. Now he found himself face to face with the only person in the world his mother feared and he had no idea what to do.

"Mhm." Nirmolak nodded please that Carlos had at least a healthy fear of his name "anymore complaints, boy?" he asked.

Carlos quickly shook his head and bowed his head to read.

Nirmolak sighed, he hasn't wanted to use his reputation to frighten the boy into compliance.

/

"Ms. De Vil knows something, sir. It would be…. Highly beneficial…. To bring her to Auradon until we are able to locate the boy." Cogsworth informed King Beast in his office.  
The King sat at his desk and leaned back in his chair as he thought over the situation. "Why wouldn't she just give us the information?"

"Sir, Ms. De Vil is… ill equipped to even form rational thought at this time. She needs intensive therapy and medication. 15 years of not having the proper resources for her mental health have caused severe deterioration of her faculties. She is useless to us, and Carlos, in her current state."

The King sighed, "Very well, make the proper arrangements to have her brought over. I want her under guard 24/7 and schedule all the necessary appointments. The sooner she talks, the sooner we can find the boy."

Cogsworth bowed and left the office. King Beast put his head in his hands, this was a mess, now they were bringing a villain over not just a child of a villain, but an actual villain.

/

Carlos and Nirmolak quickly fell into a routine over the next few days. They would have a simple breakfast, tend the animals, then have a small lunch, after which Nirmolak would tell Carlos to read one of the books he handed him or they would work on some other chores around the cabin, once Nirmolak even took Carlos over to the small stream on the far end of the clearing to swim. Then dinner, after Carlos would read one of the books he found in the chest before bed. Every chance he got he tried to figure out a way to get home but with no luck. Nirmolak was always around and the man didn't even drink himself into a drunken stupor like his mother had done. And he was quick with his hands, by the fourth day Carlos learned that when Nirmolak said he'd quiz him on the reading he meant it, mistakes were met with a swift cuff to the ear and to deliberately ignore a command resulted in painful swats. It was quite embarrassing really thought Carlos, his mother had beat him bloody more times than he could count, yet one swat from Nirmolak brought tears to his eyes, two and the tears would fall on their own. He dreaded to think what would happen if the man really got mad.

 **Please review**


	7. Chapter 7

Cruella looked around the small apartment in the facility that she had been given. Her lip curled, it was much smaller than she deserved, still it was clean and there was food in the fridge, "This will do. You may go." she said dismissively of the orderly that had brought her suite. The man raised an eyebrow and then nodded leaving the room. A small click could be heard securing Cruella in the room. The tall woman gracefully walked over toward the window and looked out at the lush gardens below, she cackled wickedly before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. This was going to work out just fine she thought as she gave a cruel smile.

/

Carlos sat up against the great oak tree in the clearing, Abra the mother-wolf was resting her head on his lap as he absentmindedly scratched her ears and the pups tumbled nearby. She had, in her way, adopted the boy into her litter and had thought of him as hers. Carlos was reading the chapter Nirmolak had set for him that day. Once he had gotten past the first few he was finding the book interesting especially now that Nirmolak was teaching him to recognize his own magic, something Carlos didn't know he possessed. He still wasn't sure how this was possible but he had been so excited when he'd finally been able to conjure a red flame in his palm that he had actually leapt up and hugged the man. Nirmolak had laughed heartily at the boys excitement. Carlos leaned his white hair back against the tree, he was more content here than anywhere he'd ever been, still there was the nagging feeling in his gut knowing that Mal, Evie, and Jay were in Auradon worried about him, searching for him, and he just knew that he had to at least TRY to get back. Although how he would do that, he had no idea.

"Carlos!" a deep voice bellowed and Carlos, well trained over the few weeks he had been there, quickly closed his book and ran to the cabin.

"Sir?" he asked as he entered.

"I will be away tonight and will be back tomorrow morning. I trust you can manage on your own?"

Carlos swallowed and nodded, he was 15 after all, he _should_ be fine. "Where are you going?" He couldn't help feel a little apprehensive, this would be his first time he was all alone, ever, he'd always had his mother (not like she was comforting or anything), and then later Evie, Mal, and Jay. Nirmolak studied him for a moment, " I want you inside by dusk and lock the door, got it?"

Carlos nodded. Nirmolak grunted and put a finger in the boys face "Be good" and with that the large man walked out the little cabin, across the clearing, and into the woods.

Carlos starred after the man, his mind raced a mile a minute, and within a few minutes he had grabbed a small canvas bag, threw a few apples and jerky in it, and headed off in the opposite direction that Nirmolak had gone in.

/

"Mirror Mirror in my hand, where does Carlos stand?" Evie asked her mirror again.

Mal rolled her eyes, Evie had been asking her stupid mirror that question several times a day since she had gotten her mirror back from the museum, a day after Carlos disappeared. It always just showed the grey fog. The purple haired girl turned the page of the book she was searching through, a little too rough as there was a loud ripping sound.

Evie squealed "Mal! Its Carlos!" she held out her mirror and Mal and Jay crowded around to peer into the small mirror, sure enough there was their white haired friend running in a thick woods. He looked to be in a good health, he didn't look scared as he ran, but there was a sense of urgency on his face.  
The three teens gave an audible sigh of relief to see their friend alive and seemingly well.

"Where is he?" Jay asked not recognizing the area. Mal shrugged but something else caught Evie's eye. "What the hell is he wearing?"

Jay and Mal took a second glance in the mirror, Jay's jaw dropped as noticed the old fashioned knickers while Mal gasped at the billowy white shirt. Carlos's typical white and black (with a touch of red) leather nowhere in sight.

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	8. Chapter 8

Evie spent the next several hours watching Carlos through her mirror. Mal and Jay had grown bored ages ago, but she couldn't help wanting to keep an eye on the younger boy. After 3 weeks of him being missing this was the first sign of him being alive and well and she wasn't going to willingly look away. She had to admit it was getting a bit boring though, there were no significant landmarks to be seen. Just tree after tree that all looked the same. Carlos could have been walking in a circle and it would have looked the same. He stopped once to pull an apple out of the little sack he was carrying and continued on at a walk for a bit before resuming his jog. As the sun began to set it was harder and harder to see anything through the mirror and after a while of straining to see anything but pitch black Evie eventually fell asleep holding the mirror in her hand.

/

Carlos had been on the move for hours he was fairly confident he was headed south but it was hard to tell as everything looked the same. The sun was beginning to set and it was starting to get harder to walk without tripping over roots. He already had fallen and scraped his knees and hands a couple times, but without anything to rinse the blood off he just continued on. As the sun set and he slowed down to a careful walk he was sure he heard something. His heart raced as he glanced around, he didn't see anything so continued on. A few more steps and he heard it again, it was quiet but a definite sound of underbrush being stepped on. Carlos slowly turned again and in the moonlight saw two yellow eyes watching him. The eyes were accompanied by a low growl. If Carlos had had anything to drink in the last several hours he might have pissed himself right then, but as it was he didn't, he turned blindly and began to run. The owner of the yellow eyes gave chase, it was soon obvious that there was more than one animal on his heels, just as he thought the animal behind him was about to lunge at him an other rushed it from the side knocking it away. It gave Carlos a few precious seconds to grab a branch of a nearby tree and scramble up about 20 feet. He peered down through the branches to the ground below, a single wolf seemed to be snapping at the pack that had given him chase. Occasionally one of the large wolves would lunge forward and the smaller animal would defend the tree Carlos was hiding in. At one point several lunged at once and one animal had even managed to leap into a lower tree limb and looked as if it had figured out how to climb up to get at Carlos but by some miracle had slipped and fallen back down to the ground with a thud. _Mother was right_ Carlos thought, _vicious pack animals that eat boys that don't behave._ At this point Carlos very much regretted disobeying Nirmolak and leaving the safety of the cabin.

As dawn finally broke after a very long stand off the pack turned and ran off. Carlos cautiously made his way down the tree. The lone animal left, his defender, he could see now that there was a bit of light was none other than Abra. He hugged her and gave her belly rubs and thanked her for saving him. She nuzzled him and gently put his hand in her jaw and began to lead him. Carlos stopped and tried to release his wrist "Abra, I have to get to my friends. They're worried about me." he tried to explain when she held onto his wrist more firmly as a mother does with a wayward child.

She gave a low growl.

"I know you were worried too. But I have to go home now." He turned to go but Abra jumped up on him and pushed him down to the forest floor, her large paws stayed on the boys chest so that he was unable to get up and she bared her teeth and snapped at the boy. Carlos stared into the wolfs blue eyes and had a distinct feeling he was being told off as she growled and barked at him.

"Alright alright, lemme up" he finally said after a bit and Abra, satisfied, got off and allowed Carlos to stand. They walked together for a few minutes, Carlos gave her a bit of jerky he had stowed away in his pocket and he took a bite out of his apple.

A moment later the apple fell to the forest floor and Carlos looked at his hand and swore, what had been his hand was now turning into dust particles again and being pulled away on the slight breeze. This time he didn't faint right away, but watched with curiosity as his hand, then arm disappeared before he fell to the ground and the rest of him drifted away on the wind.

Abra sniffed the area where Carlos had been, and then followed behind the trail back home.

/

Evie woke up with a start as the first rays of sun landed on her face, she blinked a few times and then rubbed her face realizing she still held the mirror.

"Mirror Mirror in my hand, show me where Carlos stands." she asked it, but instead of showing her her friend it was back to the grey fog of the last 3 weeks. She screamed in frustration again waking Mal up as she did.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi all, thanks for reading, this chapter has corporal punishment of a teenager, don't like it, don't read it.**

Ben flipped through the various atlas books available in the Auradon Public Archives trying to find a densely populated forest, "Guys, I think this is it." He pointed to a northern area that had been vastly unexplored but everywhere that had was denoted to have large conifer growth. It described what Evie said she saw in the mirror.

Mal looked at the area Ben pointed at and then flipped the book to the front to see how far away that area was from where they were in Auradon. "How are we going to get there Ben? Its mostly unexplored, and we'd have to go through to Borderlands first. And..."

"And they're not exactly friendly to Auradon right now," Ben interrupted "yeah, that's going to be a bit of a problem." The young prince rubbed his neck as he worried about the situation.

/

Carlos didn't have a chance to get his bearings when he regained consciousness, as soon as the last particle of his being landed in place and he took a breath Nirmolak had roughly grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Didn't I tell you to stay inside?"

Before Carlos could answer though Nirmolak had grabbed both is upper arms and started to shake him violently, his tiptoes barely touched the floor as his teeth chattered in his head and his body limp like a rag doll.  
"You could have been killed." Nirmolak continued to shout at the boy. "I thought by now you would have known better than to disobey me. Those woods are dangerous. Well? What were you thinking?" he yelled giving Carlos another hard shake.

Nirmolak let go of the boy and he stumbled backwards trying to get his balance.

"Well?" the man growled.

"I need to get to Auradon. My friends are going to be worried." Carlos said as bravely as he could peaking out through his white hair his head bowed down submissively.  
"And you thought the answer was to almost get yourself killed? What if the wild wolves had found you?" Nirmolak countered as he paced the small room, worry and anger radiated off of him in a way Carlos wasn't sure how to process.

"They didn't hurt me." Mumbled Carlos but he wished he hadn't said that when Nirmolak's head snapped up and he narrowed his eyes at him. Carlos swallowed nervously.

"You mean they found you and you managed to survive the night?"

Carlos nodded warily. Nirmolak ran his hands through his hair and muttered to himself some more, then abruptly stopped his pacing and looked at the small boy. "Right then," he said more to himself than to Carlos "If he's not scared of the woods and the wolves, I'll give him something to fear." And with that he undid his belt and pulled it off.

Carlos tried to back away shaking his head "Please don't. I won't ever try to leave again. I'm sorry" he begged.

"Yes, I suppose you will be in a moment." Nirmolak said as he grabbed Carlos and the next thing the boy knew he was dangling over the back of the ratted old couch and the giant of a man liberally applying his belt to his back side.

Carlos at first tried to stay still and take it but soon howled and kicked then followed shortly by sobbing and painful yelps. Abra barked and scratched at the door outside trying to get in to her boy .

The whipping was harsh, one of the harshest Carlos had ever gotten, but it wasn't cruel or brutal the way Cruella had handled him. Nirmolak continued his lecture about the stupidity of his actions and Carlos was sure he'd never ever try and leave again. After just short of forever Carlos thought his blistered backside must be swollen to twice its normal size and had a fire on it he couldn't remember feeling before he knew he couldn't take another lash, finally he cried out "Please, dad, I'm sorry, please stop."

Nirmolak did stop, he pulled Carlos up and looked at the sobbing boy "You know?" he asked softly, Carlos hiccuped and nodded. "How?"

"The photo of you and mom, in the album." Carlos whispered as he wiped his eyes. Nirmolak noticed the album laying open on the little table by the couch, the photo showed him with a sane Cruella holding each other and smiling, they had just found out she was pregnant. She was sent off to the isle 3 weeks later.

Nirmolak pulled Carlos into a hug, he held his son until the boy stopped sobbing, it wasn't how he had wanted to broach the subject, but Carlos seemed at peace with the information and so for the first time in 15 years he held his son in his arms after being terrified he'd lose him a second time.

Abra was now frantic outside and sounded like she'd break down the door, Nirmolak reached the door in two steps and opened it. The wolf growled at the man. "He's fine, Abra, didn't get anything that wasn't coming to him." Abra clearly disagreed as she snapped at him and then went to Carlos, who had carefully laid down on the bed on his stomach, she licked the tears off of his face and rested her head next to his as she tried her best to comfort the boy.

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	10. Chapter 10

"D-Dad…" Carlos tentatively tried out the new name, it still felt odd saying it. Nirmolak looked up from the book he was reading, Carlos nervously fiddled with his dog tail that he attached to which ever shorts or pants he was wearing that day. It had been a few days since he had tried to run away, he was still a bit sore but could now sit down without wincing, still he was nervous to bring up this topic to Nirmolak lest the man feel the need to reacquaint Carlos with his opinion on the subject, but the boy felt he had to try "Dad, am I ever going to see my friends again?"

"Someday." was the quick reply before going back to his book.

"But when? They're worried about me, I know they are."

Nirmolak sighed and looked at his son, "Its not safe for you right now."

Carlos was confused "why not?"

"Your magic is uncontrolled right now, if something were to happen… you don't want the consequences.."

Carlos looked confused "Didn't I always have magic though?"

"Not really, the barrier on the isle retarded your magic. Once you got out it started to develop, now that you're 15 it's going to mature at a much faster rate, faster than is typical because it was hindered for so long."

"I don't understand. Mal and Evie have magic."

"Mal… Maleficent's daughter?" Carlos nodded, "Her mother taught her about magic and she's a fairy. Evie is a witch. Your magic is different. It scares people especially if it's not controlled."

"But…" Carlos started to protest.

"You're not ready, Carlos, that's final."

Carlos flinched at how harshly the last words were spoken.

"Is… is there a way I can at least let them know I'm ok?" The boy asked fearfully then worried his bottom lip with his teeth as he scuffed his toe on the floor.

Nirmolak was quiet for a very long time, "You may write them a letter, next time I go to town I'll mail it."

Carlos beamed at that, his smile lighting up the room. "Thanks!" he cried sincerely and scrambled up to his loft room to find some paper.

/

"Sire," Cogsworth approached King Beast hesitantly, he knew how stressed out the King had been in recent weeks with Carlos De Vil still missing. "You should look at this report." He handed over a file with a shaking hand.

The King took the file and started reading the report. His expression changed the more he read from a slight frown to stressed to anger radiating off of him, Cogsworth was a shaking mess as he waited.

"You mean to tell me that since Cruella has been back in Auradon the treatment has worked so well she's now filing an appeal on her case?!" The king pressed.

"Yes, sire. As it turns out, her case never actually went

to trial, and she was never actually successful in kidnapping any of the puppies."

The King put his head in his hands.

"It gets worse." Cogsworth cautiously added. The King only raised his eyes up to glance at Cogsworth and waited. "She's suing Auradon, she says she never approved of Carlos coming to Auradon Prep. She's fighting for custody to be returned to her."

"There's no way she'll get the boy back, She abused him."

"That's true sir, but she claims it was a result of not being allowed treatment for her condition on the Isle, that she claims she was wrongly imprisoned on, and since he is currently missing, its not helping our side prove that its saver to keep him a ward of the state. Now that she's a bit saner, she really is a brilliant woman, apparently she has read all the relevant law books available to her."

King Beast dropped his head onto his desk the way Ben sometimes did when he was frustrated with his homework. He was seriously regretting letting Ben propose the decree to bring over the four villain kids.

 **Hey, you there, you just finished reading this chapter, yeah? Well hit that review button and leave some love, suggestions, thoughts, whatever.**


	11. Chapter 11

Ben looked at the wreath of dried red roses on the pristine white door of one Ms. Cruella De Vil's room in the assisted living facility that she had been staying at. He raised his hand and rapped on the door quickly but firmly. A few minutes later Cruella opened up, she looked much different than she had when she first arrived. Her doctors had said her progress was excellent now that she had regular meals and proper medication as well as therapy sessions.  
"Well, if it isn't the little prince." Cruella said mockingly. "And what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Good day, Cruella. May I come in?" Ben asked, unphased. The woman stepped aside to let Ben enter, he took a seat at the table.

"By all means have a seat." she said cooly to the boy, had Carlos been that presumptuous she would have made sure he couldn't sit for a week.

Ben ignored the woman and waited till she sat down across from him at the little table. "I wanted to talk to you about Carlos. Do you know where he is?"

Cruella laughed, it was still not a pleasant sound, "I don't know for sure."

"Do you know who took him?"

"I have a good idea." she answered nonchalantly and lit a cigarette.

"Who?" Ben asked trying not to sound too eager.

"So you can run after him and send me back to that blasted isle? I think not, little prince."

Ben took a breath, "You have my word, that we will not send you back until after the trial."

Cruella smiled wickedly, she gently caressed Ben's cheek "So young, as smooth as baby." she gave the boy a quick smack, not really a slap, but more than a tap that had to have stung judging by the pink handprint blossoming on Ben's cheek, it was clearly a warning. To his credit, Ben didn't even flinch. "Nirmolak." Cruella whispered, the color in Ben's face drained and the handprint stood out even more on his face. "Now get out."

Ben wasted no time in leaving.

/

"Are you sure Ben?" Evie asked as she paced her room nervously.

"That's what Cruella said."

"I can't believe he survived those three weeks from when he disappeared to when we saw him in the mirror." Mal just shook her head in disbelief, "I thought Nirmolak was banished long before the isle was even created."

"He was." Ben confirmed, "I don't understand how he plays into this, Cruella was not interested in assisting us, I was lucky to get that much out of her."

Mal thought for a moment, "So Nirmolak was banished long before the isle was created, how come he wasn't brought back and put on the isle too?"

"We couldn't find him."

/

"Carlos!" Nirmolak called, Carlos rolled his eyes and went to the cabin with Abra, "I need to go away again for a couple of days." the man said as he grabbed ahold of the ring on the collar on Carlos's neck. He chanted a few words that Carlos couldn't understand and the collar glowed and warmed up for a moment before returning to its normal state. Carlos tentatively reached his hand up and felt his neck, he'd grown so used to its presence that he barely ever noticed it anymore.

"What did you do?" He asked, more curious than anything.

"Since I can't trust you not to go into the woods I added a spell that limits you to the immediate area around the cabin, you won't be able to go beyond its limits."

"You can trust me!" Carlos tried to argue, but his father raised an eyebrow and Carlos looked away guiltily "I won't do it again." he muttered.

"No, you won't, I made sure of that."

"So its like an invisible leash?"

Nirmolak chuckled, "I suppose one could think of it that way. It should, hopefully, keep you out of trouble. There's enough food, I'll be back in 2 days at the most, I'll mail that letter of yours as well. Try not to burn the place down." Nirmolak said as he affectionately patted his son's cheek.

"Ha Ha." Carlos dryly responded.

And with that Nirmolak walked outside closed his eyes and allowed himself to become for a brief moment a statue of dust before the wind picked up the particles and he traveled away leaving Carlos standing in the doorway alone with nothing but a pack of wolves (some of which were still not very friendly towards him) for company.

 **Please let me know what you think. Reviews make me so happy. You want to make me happy don't you?**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for reading. I love reviews, comments, etc, so please leave me some.**

Nirmolak looked around the frilly pink room and suppressed a shudder, it was so … pink. He quickly deposited the envelope on the bed he guessed (from Carlos' description) to belong to Evie and quickly left the room.

It had been 15 years since he'd been in Auradon City to visit and several decades since he'd actually lived here. Not much had changed but Nirmolak was glad that no one seemed to recognize him. Security was ridiculously lax he noticed. He quickly entered a small diner and ordered, spaghetti with meatballs, a soda, and ice cream for dessert, all food's he really wasn't able to make at home. As he ate he listened to Auradon News channel 1 that was playing on the TV in the corner, not paying too much attention to the predictable weather forecasts (always seasonal weather for whatever time of year it was) that was until he heard the reporter mention Cruella De Vil's name. He looked up and watched the segment, quickly learning that Cruella was no longer on the Isle but in Auradon, in an adult assisted living facility on house arrest awaiting trial for her crimes, and that she was also seeking to reclaim custody of Carlos on the grounds that the state was negligent having "misplaced" the boy. He swore under his breath finished his meal, paid, and left.

/

"Sire," Cogsworth entered King Adams office. King Adam sat at his large desk with a pile of paperwork while Prince Ben stood next to his father, apparently they were in the middle of a lesson on reviewing the many proposals that came to their attention. King Adam looked up and gestured for the former timepiece to enter.

"Sire, it's about the De Vil boy." Both the king and the crown prince looked up at that and gave Cogsworth their full attention waiting for him to continue, "there has been an other petition filed for custody of the boy…."

"Who?"

"Nirmolak, sir."

"But that's impossible!" Beast shouted. "Ben, go get the other VKs. We need a conference."

"Yes, sir." the young prince acknowledged and quickly left the room.

/

"Evie come on, we have to go." Mal urged as she waited at the doorway of their overly pink room.

"I just need my purse." The blue haired witch responded as she ruffled through dresses and fabric in various states of completion. "Got it, let's go." She said as she came back out of the room and headed towards the meeting location with Mal. She wasn't really sure what she'd be able to contribute to this meeting, but Ben had called almost frantic. The girls quickly entered the conference room, Jay was already there as was Ben, Queen Belle, King Adam, Cogsworth, as well as ambassadors from the northernmost towns closest to the Borderlands.

"We know Nirmolak has Carlos." Ben started

Mal, Evie, and Jay all started talking at once and Ben held up his hand for silence which was immediate. "Around noon today Nirmolak was in Auradon, he filed a petition for official custody of Carlos."

The three isle teens exchanged looks. "Can he do that?" asked Mal.

"He has no valid claim to Carlos that we know of so we were just as surprised that he would go this route. Cruella, as Carlos' mom, obviously has that claim. The state of Auradon has been acting in loco parentis for all of you since you arrived and claims the right to keep Carlos as a ward of the state. We're not sure what Nirmolak's interest in Carlos is. Not to mention he was banished from Auradon decades ago. Why Carlos and not any of you? There are just too many questions and not enough answers right now."

Jay spoke next, "But he has him, I mean, Cruella guessed that he did, she knows something, not that she'll tell us more, but she was right. Nirmolak wouldn't have filed this…" he struggled to find the word for a moment "petition if he didn't have Carlos with him. We need to go and find him."

"It's not that easy," one of the ambassadors spoke next "Nirmolaks territory is beyond the borderlands. No one's been there, without the use of magic in any case. It's simply too far to travel with traditional means."

A tear escaped Evie's eye, she didn't bother brushing it away, "I just miss him, I hope he's ok."

/

An envelope slowly glided down and settled on the floor under a pink bed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Enjoy! And please leave a review, reviews are my motivation and I really like them.**

Carlos squinted at the seed in his hand and concentrated as hard as he could; the seed rolled over a few times and then fell out of his palm into the grass below out of sight. "Ugh, I'm never going to be able to do this!" he whined in frustration.

"Well not with that attitude." Nirmolak grunted at him, but his patience too was growing thin, "try again." he placed an other seed into his son's hand.

Carlos was supposed to make the seed sprout but so far he'd managed to turn one blue, one roll off his hand, and several combust into flames. "I don't understand where the energy is supposed to come from." he muttered mostly to himself.

Nirmolak raised an eyebrow, "Did you _read_ the section I set for you?"

"Yes." Answered Carlos a little too quickly. The man crossed his arms and gave his son a hard stare "I skimmed it, ok?" Both eyebrows shot up and Nirmolak pressed his lips together.

"W-w-well I .. I looked at the illustrations." Carlos muttered out finally, followed by a yelp as a couple swats landed.

"You wasted hours trying to do something you wouldn't be able to do without understanding the theory behind it. Thats time we don't have right now, Carlos." Nirmolak growled. Carlos looked confused _Time, that's something we have plenty of_ he thought.

"I'm Sorry." He yelped out as the man grabbed his upper arm and started leading him back to the cabin "Please, I'm sorry." he pleaded knowing it wouldn't save him from his father's wrath.

Abra gave a growl and then a bark to get their attention. Nirmolak turned to where the wolf was facing and Carlos stopped struggling to free his arm.

"Maha" Nirmolak whispered. A huge wolf was racing towards them from the woods. Carlos quickly ducked behind his father at the sight of the huge animal barrelling towards them.

"Here girl, what have you got for me?" Nirmolak said as the beast came closer holding what looked like a newspaper in its mouth. He relieved the animal and gave the animal a good scratch behind the ears.

"Carlos take Mahavites here to get some food and water. Then do your reading before I remember how much time you've wasted today." Nirmolak said sternly to his son.

Carlos swallowed nervously "Yes, sir." he squeaked out before leading Mahavites to the barn he was extremely curious about the newspaper, the first one he'd seen since arriving here but didn't dare ask at the moment.

Nirmolak turned to the paper. The headline on the front page read:

CRUELLA DE VIL ACQUITTED.

He quickly scanned the article, as it turned out Cruella had never been given a fair trial for the murder of 101 puppies, and since not one of the puppies had actually been murdered her charges had been reduced to attempted kidnapping and sentenced to time served on the isle. As restitution for the extreme punishment, Auradon was providing her with an apartment for as long as she wanted it. The article went on to talk more about Cruella's plight on the isle, the difficult circumstances with life there and lack of treatment and medication for her mental condition, having her only child taken from her and now was missing, and how much she missed her son and wanted him home safe. The article closed with a plea for anyone with information about Carlos' whereabouts to contact the number listed.

Nirmolak gritted his teeth and growled at the news. He was going to have to take Carlos to the hearing in a few weeks and he knew Carlos wasn't even close to ready to be back in Auradon. The boy did not have nearly enough control of his magic to be around so many people. He looked back at the cabin and saw his son curled up on the sofa with his magical theory book. _Not nearly ready_ he thought of all that could go wrong in 3 weeks time when the custody hearing was scheduled.

/

King Beast rubbed his temples. When the news broke of the verdict at Cruella's trial, and the subsequent press coverage the former villain was getting, which frankly made her look like the unfortunate victim and him like a tyrant, he had nothing but reporters asking for statements as well as numerous petitions from the Isle for retrials. All he had wanted to do was protect his people and that had backfired spectacularly. Ben had informed him how worried Mal, Evie, and Jay were of their parents making a return as well. And they all feared Carlos's reaction when he learned of his mothers return to Auradon since the boy had been so badly abused and traumatised by her.

He had also sent troops north to the borderlands in hopes of finding a way through the woods, so far the only word was that two had died in a small skirmish at the borderlands but the rest had managed to make it though and had entered the woods where all communication was lost. It was a waiting game now, and then of course the hearing in a few weeks. King Beast hoped they could just wait it out till then and hopefully who ever had Carlos would show up with him.


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you to the several of you that kept poking me to update this. I've been a bit preoccupied with my other story and just life. But this one is very close to completion so I figure I should work more on it, especially with D3 coming out soon. I'm very excited to see it finally.**

 **As you may have guessed I was devistated to hear of the passing of Cameron Boyce a few weeks ago, obviously he and his character were my muse for this story. RIP Cameron.**

* * *

"Carlos" Nirmolak got his son's attention "we need to go to Auradon."  
"Really?" the boy squeaked excitedly.

"Don't be too happy, we won't be staying." Carlos frowned and looked away, he bit his lip to keep from responding with the disrespectful attitude he was feeling at the moment.  
Nirmolak continued "Your mother, is apparently suing Auradon for custody of you."  
Carlos' eyes widened "My mom? But she's on the …." his words trailed off when he saw the man shake his head.

"I'm afraid not, she's been in Auradon for a while now. She appealed the courts and her sentence was revoked. She's a free woman."

The freckles stood out on Carlos' face as he paled, he rushed outside and emptied his stomach, he couldn't believe that his mom was free now. After everything she'd done, how was it possible.

After cleaning up Carlos put on his old clothes, the leather was warm and somewhat uncomfortable after the loose cotton clothing he'd been wearing for the last several weeks. He'd grown too, the jacket didn't quite fit right anymore and the shorts were even shorter. He frowned as he looked down at his outfit. But there was no way he'd show up in Auradon looking like he'd stepped out of Treasure Island.

"Ready?" Nirmolak asked, the teen nodded and the next thing he knew he had blacked out.

/

Carlos followed Nirmolak through various hallways before knocking on a door. He'd woken up in a deserted building that connected to the court house through some of the old mining tunnels from the dwarfs.

The door opened and Nirmolak ushered the boy in.

Carlos couldn't breath a moment later as Evie engulfed him in a hug.  
"Evie!" the boy smiled "where are Mal and Jay?" He looked around.  
"They wanted to keep this small and out of the public eye as much as possible. I think it's going to get messy." she added the last bit in a whisper. Carlos took a moment to look around the room. King Beast and Queen Bell was there, some sort of judge or moderator, and at the far side of the room, Cruella.

Carlos hadn't really been prepared to see her, although this was probably for the best because he would have just been panicked the whole time. As it was he felt his heart race at the sight of the women. He swallowed hard and licked his lips nervously.

"Carlos darling. Come give mummy a hug." She crooned at him.

He stood where he was until Evie pulled him over to a couple chairs in the corner of the room while Nirmolak sat at one side of the table. He knew he wouldn't get much say in anything. The judge would maybe ask him what he wanted, if he was lucky, but that would be it, they didn't have to grant him anything. He wasn't even sure anymore. He missed his friends in Auradon. But he also liked being with his father. And of course he was terrified of his mom, but she was still his mom. Evie noticed how distressed he was and pulled him into a hug.

"Looks like I need to make you new clothes, you grew." she commented, trying to distract him from worries that were far too big for his small frame.

/

"He needs to stay with me. I'm the only one that can teach him how to control his powers." Nirmolak could be heard arguing.

"He's never shown any sign of powers." Cruella spat back.

"He was too young! And on that island. He's not a child anymore, and if he's not taught how to control them things will get out of hand." Nirmolak turned to the king and judge "You both know this."

The Judge and King Beast looked uncomfortable.  
The king spoke up "Are you saying he is…?"

"Yes."

"Does he know?"  
"Not yet."

Cruella jumped in "You mean you haven't bothered to tell him?" she seemed genuinely upset.

"Tell me what?" Carlos couldn't take it anymore, he hated them talking about him when he was right there. He was not a piece of furniture that got moved from person to person.

Nirmolak sighed "Carlos, when I was your age, I was bitten and turned into a werewolf. I had a lot of trouble controling my powers and didn't have anyone to teach me. I ended up killing a lot of people, on accident, but I was considered a threat, and banished. Laws were passed outlawing any werewolves from living in Auradon."

Carlos stared at the man for a very long time no one said anything.

"So…. am I one too?"

"Sort of," Nirmolak answered.


	15. Chapter 15

T6ixAce - please send me a PM and we can discuss, I'm not able to reply to your review.

Thank you all so much for your comments on this story. Things are starting to wind down now, maybe only one or two chapters left. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy this latest update.

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Carlos sat. He didn't look at anyone. He wasn't even aware of his thoughts. They were either not there at all or going too fast for him to be able to comprehend anything.

A werewolf, his father was a werewolf.

Suddenly an influx of questions flooded his mind, "What do you mean, 'sort of'?"

"As far as we know, you are the only child ever born between a werewolf and a human. We just don't know. You don't show any signs of changing on the full moon, but you have powers that spike during that time. If you don't know how to control your magic the rest of the month there is a greater risk of hurting yourself or others at the full moon," Nirmolak explained.

Evie put her hand in Carlos' and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Is that why you took me?"

"Yes, I couldn't just walk in here and explain it all, I would have been arrested and then you wouldn't have had anyone to help guide you."  
"Why didn't you just tell me right from the start?"

"Would you have believed me?"

Carlos looked at his father and considered the question, then shook his head, no, he would not have believed that his fur obsessed mother had fallen in love with a werewolf and had a child together. Although the more he thought about it the more her obsession combined with whatever was wrong in her mind made more and more sense.

The adults began their bickering again, Nirmolak's argument that he should have his son for the next several years to teach him, Cruella argued that her son was stolen from her and that all the abuse that Carlos' had suffered at her hands wouldn't have happened had she even had that trial, to begin with. And the representative for Auradon pressed the point that Cruella should not get Carlos back because of her mental health and abusive history and that Nirmolak shouldn't be awarded custody either because of the way he had just kidnapped the boy.

It was too much, which they all argued Carlos got up and walked out of the room. Evie was the only one to notice and quietly followed.

As soon as the hallway wrapped Carlos in its own embrace of silence he realized how stressed out he felt and began walking, first a quick walk and then a jog, then a full sprint, he didn't know where he was going and was only vaguely aware of Evie falling behind in the distance, unable to keep up.

Eventually, he found his way out of the building and ran, not really aware of which direction he was going. A familiar bark was the only thing that caused him to slow down and look for the sound. Dude had been out for a walk with Jane and sensed his boy's distress when he broke free and ran to him. Carlos fell to his knees and the little dog jumped into his arms.

"Carlos!" Evie gasped for breath when she finally caught up.

"Sorry Evie, it was just too much."

Evie held her friend, "I don't think they'll really listen, but what do you want? Who do you want to be with?"

Carlos shook his head, "I don't know."

He sobbed into Dude's fur, "Mom is, well, she's my mom, she's all I ever knew, but she was horrible. The doctors say she's better now that she won't hurt me anymore. And my dad, he's teaching me magic which I like but he's really strict and I miss you all so much. And Auradon is great and all, but I just don't feel like I can do it by myself, I don't think I'm ready to be all on my own."

The words spilled out of Carlos so fast Evie knew they had to be the truth. The boy's frustration and all the pent up anxiety and worry radiated off of him. A pulse of magic energy surged from his core and Dude, unable to handle the burst, collapsed in his arms. Carlos began to cry as Dude now lay unconscious.

"Oh Carlos," she said and pulled her friend into a hug where she held him. Neither of them was even aware that the adults had heard everything as they had caught up to them shortly after Evie. Those with magic like Evie and Nirmolak hadn't been as affected by the blast but the others had been knocked off their feet.

"Carlos?" the moderator said gently, "let's head back inside so you can lay down."

The older woman reached out a hand to help the boy up and he slumped against Evie as they headed back into a building.


End file.
